The Korean Cultural Center in Belgium will host an evening of classical music featuring renowned recorder player Hojin Kwon on October 14, 2025, at 8:00 PM. The free concert, titled "In:Spir-Ation," requires advance reservations, which will open at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, September 23, through the center's online booking system. This performance is part of the "KCC On Stage 2025" series, which showcases ten different Korean performing arts throughout the year.
Hojin Kwon has established herself as a rising star in the international classical music scene since winning both the Second Prize and the Audience Prize at the prestigious 2021 MA Competition in Bruges. Her exceptional performances have been featured on major European broadcasting networks, including BBC Radio 3 and SRF 2 Kultur, where she has captivated audiences with her exploration of diverse musical repertoires spanning from early baroque compositions to contemporary and improvisational works.
Accompanying Kwon will be harpsichordist Mélanie Flores, who earned recognition as a winner at the 2022 International Bach Competition in Leipzig. The two musicians are founding members of the ensemble "Sonorità" and have previously demonstrated their remarkable musical chemistry in performances across Europe. Their collaboration promises to deliver a rich tapestry of melodies that bridges the profound depth of early music with modern sensibilities through the beautiful dialogue between recorder and harpsichord.
The concert program features an impressive selection of works from different musical periods. The evening will begin with Arcangelo Corelli's Sonata No. 10 in F major, Op. 5, composed in Rome in 1700, featuring five movements including Preludio, Allemanda, Sarabanda, Gavotta, and Giga. The program also includes Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's "Vestiva i Colli" with diminutions by Francesco Rognoni, published in Milan in 1620, and a contemporary piece by Johan Huys titled "Ceci n'est pas une passacaille" for two-manual harpsichord, composed in 2018.
Additional highlights include Johann Sebastian Bach's Sonata in F major, BWV 1016, originally composed in E major, and Conrad Steinmann's "Remember," written in Winterthur in 1994. The program concludes with Paolo Benedetto Bellinzani's Sonata No. 12 in D minor, Op. 3, from Venice in 1720, which features movements titled Largo, "Cembalo solo per respiro del Flauto," and Follia.
Hojin Kwon's musical journey began at the Korea National University of Arts before she continued her advanced studies at the prestigious Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where she completed her degrees with the highest honors. She now actively performs across Europe and Asia as both a soloist and chamber musician, and currently serves as a faculty member at the Musikschule Konservatorium Zurich. Her performance at the 2021 MA Competition was praised as "a true fireworks display – emotionally rich and artistically refined."
Mélanie Flores brings her own distinguished background to the collaboration. The Mexican-born harpsichordist is also a choral conductor and educator who has performed at prestigious festivals across Europe and Mexico, including Jeunes Talents in Paris and the Fringe Festival Oude Muziek in Utrecht. She has appeared with the Venice Baroque Orchestra and participated in numerous opera productions. Flores holds master's degrees in both performance and pedagogy from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and maintains a long-standing musical partnership with Kwon through their work in the ensembles Sonorità and Las Lunas.
This concert represents part of the Korean Cultural Center's broader mission to introduce Korean artistic talent to Belgian audiences while celebrating the universal language of classical music. The KCC On Stage series continues to provide a platform for Korean artists to showcase their skills in various performing arts disciplines, fostering cultural exchange and appreciation between Korea and Belgium.
